Various tools and devices have been developed for elevating teeth during the extraction process. The most common device used for this purpose is the straight elevator. This tool consists of a handle, a straight shaft and a rounded, scoop shaped tip. The elevator is placed perpendicular to the long axis of the alveolar ridge on the mesial aspect of the tooth, with the rounded side of its tip resting on the bone. The elevator is rotated away from the tooth, creating a “scooping” action to elevate the tooth. The elevator may also be rotated toward the tooth to luxate and move it posteriorly. The straight elevator can be problematic as it is difficult to control the force applied to such a tool. If the practitioner slips while attempting to elevate a tooth, it is possible to penetrate the cheek of the patient or damage adjacent teeth. In difficult extractions, practitioners are often tempted to use the straight elevator as a lever against adjacent teeth. This practice can result in broken teeth and related complications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,379 issued to Rodriguez del Val is directed to a dental raising forceps for the rearmost upper molars or their remains. The reference describes a bayonet forceps with pointed jaws that are somewhat half-moon in shape with rounded points used to loosen and elevate the last molar or remains of the root thereof. The forceps comprise a handle portion, a hinge and symmetrically curved jaws. The points of the jaws are inserted between the second and third upper molars, which loosens and raises the molar or the remains of the roots. Conventional forceps are then used to complete the extraction. This invention is useful only for rearmost upper molars and only to luxate the tooth posteriorly as its jaws have only a single working surface. Further, the Rodriguez del Val forceps uses an adjacent tooth as a fulcrum, inviting the possibility of damaging the adjacent tooth.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,507,738 issued to Johnson, discloses elevating forceps that are used to operate on the third lower molar in order to facilitate the removal thereof. The forceps shown in this reference comprise handles which are pivotally connected by a pin with jaws or beaks that are made with a slight off-set so that when the device is closed the tips will pass or overlap one another. The cross-section of the jaws is wedge-shaped and this construction serves to effect a wedging on the tooth to be extracted. Beaks also have a bend in the forward direction that results in further displacement of the tooth as the jaws of the forceps are closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,161, issued to Montgomery is directed to a breakdown dental forceps. The forceps seen in this patent have tapered jaws with concave inner surfaces that allow the forceps to be used to grasp the mesial and distal surfaces of a molar, thus providing more gripping area and easier extraction. The jaw point is employed to loosen an individual section of root by placing the jaw point against the outside surface of the root and applying rotational force which causes the root to be loosened and therefore easier to remove. This invention provides for a narrow set of jaws for grasping a tooth in narrow confines. In addition, it is designed to provide the ability to twist a tooth in order to loosen it.
While other variations exist, the above described designs for tooth elevators and forceps are typical of those encountered in the prior art. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a safe and effective means for elevating upper and lower posterior teeth prior to extraction. It is a further objective to provide such elevation while minimizing the chance of causing complications and damage to surrounding tissues. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a tooth elevator in which the amount of force applied can be easily controlled and for which accessibility is improved when compared with conventional elevators. It is yet a further objective to provide a tooth elevator that can be safely used for sectioning a tooth after a slot has been made with a rotary drill at the point where the tooth is to be split. Finally, it is an objective of the invention to provide a tooth elevator that is easily used by practitioners who are unable to apply a great deal of force to a conventional elevator.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.